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Wayne P. Suttles papers, 1827-2004

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Suttles, Wayne P., 1918-2005
Title
Wayne P. Suttles papers
Dates
1827-2004 (inclusive)
1933-2003 (bulk)
Quantity
45.16 cubic feet, (51 boxes including 20 cds, 42 sound reels, 7 vinyl records, and slides)
3.08 gigabytes, (19 wav files)
Collection Number
5202
Summary
Papers of a Northwest Coast Salish anthropologist who studied Salish languages
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections for details.

Request at UW

Languages
English, Salishan languages, French, German, Japanese
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Biographical Note

Wayne Suttles (1918-2005) was a leading authority on the ethnology and linguistics of the Coast Salish people. He grew up on a dairy farm in Bothell, Washington before attending the University of Washington and majoring in anthropology. While attending UW, Suttles met and married fellow anthropology major, Shirley Smith, later known as essayist and children's author Lesley Conger.

In 1941 Suttles was recruited into the U.S. Navy's Japanese language program and served as a Naval Japanese Language Officer in Okinawa. He did field research for the National Research Council and kept field notes on Okinawan culture and language, which he later used in further research with Canadian-Okinawan immigrants.

Suttles returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1946 and earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Washington, where he was a student of Erna Gunther, Melville Jacobs, Viola Garfield, and Verne Ray. His field research with residents of the Swinomish and Lummi reservations and Saanich and Songhees reserves informed his dissertation "The Economic Life of the Coast Salish of Haro and Rosario Straits." Like his Boasian predecessors, Suttles focused on both ethnography and linguistics to understand historical culture, but endeavored to understand how contemporary Salish culture evolved and continues to change. He insisted that Salish worldviews must be placed in the forefront and that Western-imposed categories often misrepresented Indigenous culture.

Suttles held teaching positions at the University of British Columbia (1952-1963), University of Nevada-Reno (1963-1966) and Portland State University (1966-1985), and continued to research Salish languages and culture, producing papers on Northwest Coast natural resources, potlatch practices, and art. In 1971 he took on the project of editing the Handbook of North American Indians on the Northwest Coast , which was published in 1990. Another major project was Suttles's work with Musqueam and Katzie speakers of the Halkomelem (Halq'emeylem) language, culminating in Musqueam Reference Grammar in 2004. His extensive research and knowledge of the Pacific Northwest regional history was also used to assist Indigenous communities in asserting land use claims and fishing rights, of which Sparrow v. The Queen et al, was a landmark case in British Columbia.

Sources: Obituary by Aldona Jonaitis in American Anthropologist , Seattle Times obituary, Shirley Suttles obituary

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Content Description

Biographical features, correspondence, field notes, manuscripts, court cases and files, course files and lecture notes, linguistic notes, conference papers, publications, research files, maps, and photographs. Includes notes and other ethnographic and linguistic materials by others, annotated by Wayne Suttles.

Spellings of tribal names in the finding aid replicate Suttles' original documentation.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

To the extent that they own the copyright, the donor has transferred the copyright of the materials to the University of Washington; however, copyright in some items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 2 accessions:

  • Accession No. 5202-002, Wayne Suttles papers, 1827-2004 (bulk 1933-2003)
    • Series 1, Personal files, 1918-2001
    • Series 2, Research Materials: Pacific Northwest Indigenous, 1845-2003
      • Subseries A, Research Arranged by Tribe/Language
      • Subseries B, Field Notebooks
      • Subseries C, Research Arranged by Informant
      • Subseries D, Research Arranged by Subject
      • Subseries E, Research and Writings by Others
      • Subseries F, Legal Work
      • Subseries G, General Research
    • Series 3, Research Materials and Writing: Okinawa and Okinawan Alberta immigrants, 1952-2001
    • Series 4, Correspondence, 1945-2004
    • Series 5, Writings, 1827-2003
      • Subseries A, Undergraduate Work
      • Subseries B, Dissertation
      • Subseries C, Conference Papers
      • Subseries D, Handbook of North American Indians (editor and contributor)
      • Subseries E, Musqueam Grammar
      • Subseries F, Coast Salish Essays
      • Subseries G, A Time of Gathering
      • Subseries H, The Fort Langley Journals
      • Subseries I, Chiefly Feasts
      • Subseries J, Dictionary of Art—Northwest Coast Architecture Chapter
      • Subseries K, Shaping Seattle Architecture—Native American Architecture on Puget Sound
      • Subseries L, Reviews and Recommendations
      • Subseries M, Miscellaneous Writings
    • Series 6, Courses and Lectures, approximately 1938-2002
  • Accession No. 5202-003, Wayne Suttles sound recordings and slides, 1957-1971
    • Series 1, Numbered Reel-to-reel and CDs
      • Subseries A, Hul'q'umi'num' Collection
      • Subseries B, Halkomelem and Chinook Jargon
    • Series 2, Unnumbered Tapes
    • Series 3, Vinyl Records
    • Series 4, Notes
    • Series 5, Slides
    • Series 6, Digital Files

Acquisition Information

Wayne Suttles, 2000 September 12, Mrs. Wayne (Shirley) Suttles, 2005 August 17, Donna Gerdts and Mercedes Q. Hinkson for Suttles Estate, 2005 August 23, and Donna Gerdts, 2011 March 25

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms


2025

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